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Imation Buys Nexsan for $120 Million

More data storage offerings in store for Imation.

Data storage and security company Imation(NYSE:IMN)announced today that it has acquired privately held storage company Nexsan for approximately $120 million.

Founded in 1999, Nexsan will bring 11,000 customers worldwide and 200 employees in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. to Imation's ranks. Imation expects Nexsan's business model to strengthen its storage portfolio and expand its value proposition to small and medium-sized businesses and distributed enterprise storage markets.

"Imation's acquisition of Nexsan is an exciting next step in our strategic transformation, which includes investing in growth platforms in data storage and security solutions, where we are targeting markets with strong growth rates," said Mark Lucas, Imation President and CEO, in a statement. "The combination of Nexsan's products, technologies, and talented teams with Imation's global reach and infrastructure will be an excellent accelerator for our growth strategy in storage solutions."

Nexsan's 2011 sales were $82 million with gross margins in the 40% range, according to a company press release. For the same year, Imation clocked $1.3 billion in sales and a 21.3% gross margin.